The hour of si.
Nine sonorous tolls of the bell spread throughout the capital.
Commoners hid in their homes, shivering with fear, praying for the chaos in the capital to end soon.
Officials had long dressed in their court attire, and upon hearing the bell tolls, under the protection of their family retainers and Protectors, they hurried towards the imperial city.
Along the way, cries and screams were occasionally heard, for the world is never short of thieves who fish in troubled waters, seizing the opportunity to rob amidst the great chaos at the imperial palace.
The eastern gate of the imperial palace.
Experts from the Imperial Household Division on the city walls continuously called for the officials to present themselves individually, forbidding family retainers from getting close.
The palace gate was only slightly ajar, and the officials entered one by one.
